How to Install Uplink on Ubuntu 10.04

Anything and Everything about Uplink

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Leivan
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How to Install Uplink on Ubuntu 10.04

Postby Leivan » Fri Jul 16, 2010 7:10 pm

Alright, call me an absolute failure if you must, but I can't be the only one frustrated at the horrendously user-unfriendly guides out there for this. People posting claim to be "Linux newbies", but are coming into the discussion having already done some playing about in the console or modifying file attributes or somesuch. If an operating system is designed to be usable by anyone, it needs to be simple to understand. Just because we can all play as hackers in Uplink, doesn't mean that everyone who wants to play it is necessarily going to be able to experienced enough with Linux to get it installed.

In response to this, I've created this guide, which is a fairly comprehensive, step-by-step guide for getting Uplink installed on Ubuntu, which I imagine will be the Linux OS of choice for most casual players. To anyone who says "just use Wine", I'm not catering to that audience. I'm telling people how to play it directly through Linux, so live and let live.

Firstly, this guide is accurate for Ubuntu 10.04 and Uplink 1.54. It also uses the downloaded version from the Introversion website, so it sort of relies on you being able to get a hold of that. But let's be honest, at about 25MB, it's not a stretch.

So first of all, you need to get a hold of that installation file. To do this, simply go to the "My Account" section of the Introversion website and select the Uplink game from your list of purchases. Then, download the Linux installer. Once you have that in place, you're ready to begin.

1. Once the download is complete (assuming you're using Firefox), right click on the uplink-complete-1.54DOWNLOAD.sh file and go to Properties.

2. Go to the Permissions tab and tick the box that says "Allow executing file as program", then click close.

Here's where you would normally simply double-click and install away, but Ubuntu 10.04 doesn't come with a lot of the packages (read: required files) for Uplink to run. Specifically, a package called libgtk1.2 and a few associated bits and bobs. But go ahead and try to install now if you want to, and you can see the error message for yourself. Just hit enter when you're ready to close the window and continue.

Now, since the Uplink readme, install instructions, website, forum and even Google make no mention of this problem and how specifically to resolve it, here's the next few steps you need to follow to get Uplink running.

3. Go here first. Click the "all" link under the "Architecture" category in the table and then choose a server to download the file from.

4. If you're running Firefox, you'll get the option to Save or Run using the "GDebi Package Installer". We want to run this file.

5. A dialog box will pop up and do a little thinking, after which you should see a button to Install the package. Go ahead and do this and then close the various windows once the process is complete.

6. Now, you need to repeat steps 4 and 5 for the following two links, in this order: Link 1 | Link 2

NOTE: For these two links, you'll notice that the "all" option has been replaced. For most people, the option you'll need to click is "i386". If you're running a 64-bit system with an AMD processor AND the 64-bit AMD version of Ubuntu 10.04, then obviously click the "amd64" option instead.

7. Once these last two packages are installed, go back to your Downloads folder and double-click the Uplink install file we downloaded in the first place. This time, you'll see an error message regarding a missing package (likely libgtk-canberra-module.so), but this can safely be ignored.

8. Up will pop an Uplink installer - from here, it's pretty straightforward. Just say Yes and Install to everything and the game will be installed almost immediately. Once done, close the installer and press enter in the white box (ignoring any additional errors).

9. Now we're ready to run Uplink. From the Places menu on the Ubuntu Taskbar, choose Home Folder.

10. Open the "uplink" folder and double-click the "uplink" file that looks like a text document. It's already setup to execute, for those that are observant - you should now be in Uplink and ready to play the game.


And that's it - 10 easy steps that any one of these "Linux newbies" would probably have dismissed as childsplay, but would have presented a huge barrier to the true beginner or someone who doesn't understand the obscure error messages that even Ubuntu - the friendliest of the Linux distros - insists on throwing at us. Hope that this helps anyone who comes looking for aid, to play this excellent game on a free operating system.
markhyder
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Postby markhyder » Tue Aug 03, 2010 4:47 pm

When I click on uplink, I get a message.

Could not display. Select Application.
DavidOfLondon
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Re: How to Install Uplink on Ubuntu 10.04

Postby DavidOfLondon » Thu Aug 26, 2010 11:43 pm

I just wanted to say thank you so much for doing this. As a new linux user it astonishes me the level to which developers and long-term users just treat the whole thing as "here's the code, now get lost".

You'd think the producer of this game would want people to play it, right? Well they've a very very weird way of making that possible....I was gonna add "If you're new to linux" but actually, knowing how to do the steps you describe is not straightforward enough for someone who's even used linux as an OS for a full year.

In the end, it's just plain bad business sense and I have no doubt that this game has lost very serious revenue for its producers which could have been earned by a simple "This is what you'll need".

My best friend is a multi-millionaire who started a software company from his bedroom and now runs one of the UK's largest educational software producers. His absolute obsession from day one was customer care - it's what separated him from established companies and made schools switch to his product.

The people who produce Linux games should either emulate that approach or give up the idea of making money.

Unreal...

Leivan wrote:Alright, call me an absolute failure if you must, but I can't be the only one frustrated at the horrendously user-unfriendly guides out there for this. People posting claim to be "Linux newbies", but are coming into the discussion having already done some playing about in the console or modifying file attributes or somesuch. If an operating system is designed to be usable by anyone, it needs to be simple to understand. Just because we can all play as hackers in Uplink, doesn't mean that everyone who wants to play it is necessarily going to be able to experienced enough with Linux to get it installed.

In response to this, I've created this guide, which is a fairly comprehensive, step-by-step guide for getting Uplink installed on Ubuntu, which I imagine will be the Linux OS of choice for most casual players. To anyone who says "just use Wine", I'm not catering to that audience. I'm telling people how to play it directly through Linux, so live and let live.

Firstly, this guide is accurate for Ubuntu 10.04 and Uplink 1.54. It also uses the downloaded version from the Introversion website, so it sort of relies on you being able to get a hold of that. But let's be honest, at about 25MB, it's not a stretch.

So first of all, you need to get a hold of that installation file. To do this, simply go to the "My Account" section of the Introversion website and select the Uplink game from your list of purchases. Then, download the Linux installer. Once you have that in place, you're ready to begin.

1. Once the download is complete (assuming you're using Firefox), right click on the uplink-complete-1.54DOWNLOAD.sh file and go to Properties.

2. Go to the Permissions tab and tick the box that says "Allow executing file as program", then click close.

Here's where you would normally simply double-click and install away, but Ubuntu 10.04 doesn't come with a lot of the packages (read: required files) for Uplink to run. Specifically, a package called libgtk1.2 and a few associated bits and bobs. But go ahead and try to install now if you want to, and you can see the error message for yourself. Just hit enter when you're ready to close the window and continue.

Now, since the Uplink readme, install instructions, website, forum and even Google make no mention of this problem and how specifically to resolve it, here's the next few steps you need to follow to get Uplink running.

3. Go here first. Click the "all" link under the "Architecture" category in the table and then choose a server to download the file from.

4. If you're running Firefox, you'll get the option to Save or Run using the "GDebi Package Installer". We want to run this file.

5. A dialog box will pop up and do a little thinking, after which you should see a button to Install the package. Go ahead and do this and then close the various windows once the process is complete.

6. Now, you need to repeat steps 4 and 5 for the following two links, in this order: Link 1 | Link 2

NOTE: For these two links, you'll notice that the "all" option has been replaced. For most people, the option you'll need to click is "i386". If you're running a 64-bit system with an AMD processor AND the 64-bit AMD version of Ubuntu 10.04, then obviously click the "amd64" option instead.

7. Once these last two packages are installed, go back to your Downloads folder and double-click the Uplink install file we downloaded in the first place. This time, you'll see an error message regarding a missing package (likely libgtk-canberra-module.so), but this can safely be ignored.

8. Up will pop an Uplink installer - from here, it's pretty straightforward. Just say Yes and Install to everything and the game will be installed almost immediately. Once done, close the installer and press enter in the white box (ignoring any additional errors).

9. Now we're ready to run Uplink. From the Places menu on the Ubuntu Taskbar, choose Home Folder.

10. Open the "uplink" folder and double-click the "uplink" file that looks like a text document. It's already setup to execute, for those that are observant - you should now be in Uplink and ready to play the game.


And that's it - 10 easy steps that any one of these "Linux newbies" would probably have dismissed as childsplay, but would have presented a huge barrier to the true beginner or someone who doesn't understand the obscure error messages that even Ubuntu - the friendliest of the Linux distros - insists on throwing at us. Hope that this helps anyone who comes looking for aid, to play this excellent game on a free operating system.
markhyder
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Postby markhyder » Thu Aug 26, 2010 11:58 pm

So first of all, you need to get a hold of that installation file. To do this, simply go to the "My Account" section of the Introversion website and select the Uplink game from your list of purchases. Then, download the Linux installer. Once you have that in place, you're ready to begin.


Is differernt for me, because I only got the CD and it from the web site, but not from http://store.introversion.co.uk. http://store.introversion.co.uk/ site is bit of a new site.
kreativt
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Postby kreativt » Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:59 pm

Thank you! Now, if someone could write a similar guide for Ubuntu 10.10 I would be very happy.

The problem (I think) is that on "Step 6", Ubuntu software center claims: "Breaks existing package 'libglib1.2ldbl' conflict: libglib1.2 ( ) "

Any ideas?

Best regards,
Kreativt
resdev
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Newer versions of Ubuntu

Postby resdev » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:58 am

This should work for Ubuntu 10.10 as well. I used the same procedure for Linux Mint 10 (which is based on Ubuntu 10.10) and it worked fine.
orillian
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Re: Newer versions of Ubuntu

Postby orillian » Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:00 pm

resdev wrote:(which is based on Ubuntu 10.10)


Not exactly true, mint and ubuntu are both based on debian.
Montyphy
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Re: Newer versions of Ubuntu

Postby Montyphy » Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:40 pm

orillian wrote:
resdev wrote:(which is based on Ubuntu 10.10)


Not exactly true, mint and ubuntu are both based on debian.


You should have read more than just the first sentence of Linux Mint's Wikipedia entry...
Uplink help: Check out the Guide or FAQ.
Latest Uplink patch is v1.55.
orillian
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Postby orillian » Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:24 pm

Montyphy
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Postby Montyphy » Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:22 pm



Linux Mint 10 != Linux Mint Debian

There is more than one edition and you've only linked to posts about Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE). ;) Linux Mint is typically based on the Ubuntu repositories and it is those editions that get versioned as Linux Mint 8, Linux Mint 9, Liinux Mint 10, etc. LMDE does rolling updates so it's not versioned like the Ubuntu base.

See:

Heck, if you even read your own links you would have realised this. For example:

Your first link:
http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1467 wrote:We’re not “switching base”, we’ll continue to use Ubuntu on most of our systems.


Your second link:
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/09/linux-mint-based-on-debian-released-and.html wrote:The new Linux distribution is still a bit rough and of course not as stable as the Ubuntu-based Linux mint


http://www.webupd8.org/2010/09/linux-mint-based-on-debian-released-and.html wrote:As expected, Linux Mint Debian comes with all the cool "toys" found in the Ubuntu-based Linux Mint such as the Mint Menu


Your third link:

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1604 wrote:FAQ
1. Is LMDE compatible with Ubuntu-based Linux Mint editions?

No, it is not. LMDE is compatible with Debian, which isn’t compatible with Ubuntu.
Uplink help: Check out the Guide or FAQ.

Latest Uplink patch is v1.55.
Runaway1956
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Postby Runaway1956 » Sun May 29, 2011 5:13 am

Ohhhh-kay.

I downloaded the demo, and had problems with the libgtk1.2

I googled around, and finally landed here. I followed the steps in the guide, with no joy. Attempting to install the demo gives me a slightly different error message now.

Previous message: .setup10319: error while loading shared libraries: libgtk-1.2.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory


Current message: .setup13931: error while loading shared libraries: libgtk-1.2.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory


I'm running Ubuntu 10.04 AMD64, and I was careful to download the AMD64 versions of the libraries in the guide. I'm curious about the game, and I am thinking about purchasing it - but if it wont' install, I don't really want to waste twenty bucks. I'm somewhat discouraged by the fact that all posts regarding the shared libraries are years old. So much has been deprecated in the past few years, or updated beyond recognition.

Any ideas?
2Karl
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Postby 2Karl » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:54 pm

Thought I'd chime in with a couple of corrections for 64 bit users:

6. Now, you need to repeat steps 4 and 5 for the following two links, in this order: Link 1 | Link 2


Not strictly true. What 64 bit users need to do is download and save the 32 bit (i386) versions of these libraries. to install them, run the following:

Code: Select all

sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture libglib1.2_1.2.10-10.1build1_i386.deb
for the first one and

Code: Select all

sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture libgtk1.2_1.2.10-18_i386.deb
for the second one.

Once both packages are installed, you should be able to run the uplink installer. (NB you may want to also install the 64 bit packages in addition to the 32 bit ones, but the game and the installer will search for 32 bit libs).

Hope this helps!
Runaway1956
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Postby Runaway1956 » Thu Jun 02, 2011 12:22 am

2Karl wrote:Thought I'd chime in with a couple of corrections for 64 bit users:

6. Now, you need to repeat steps 4 and 5 for the following two links, in this order: Link 1 | Link 2


Not strictly true. What 64 bit users need to do is download and save the 32 bit (i386) versions of these libraries. to install them, run the following:

Code: Select all

sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture libglib1.2_1.2.10-10.1build1_i386.deb
for the first one and

Code: Select all

sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture libgtk1.2_1.2.10-18_i386.deb
for the second one.

Once both packages are installed, you should be able to run the uplink installer. (NB you may want to also install the 64 bit packages in addition to the 32 bit ones, but the game and the installer will search for 32 bit libs).

Hope this helps!



I thank you, Sir, for making me feel stupid, LOL!! Had I thought a bit longer, and a little bit harder, I might have realized that I needed the 32 bit libraries. Or not. I have now installed those 32 bit libs, created an account, logged into it, and done the first tutorial. Looks pretty cool - but I've got to do some other things right now. I'll be back later for the next tut, and to get started playing!

Again, THANK YOU!!
2Karl
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Re: How to Install Uplink on Ubuntu 10.04

Postby 2Karl » Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:13 pm

Leivan wrote:the obscure error messages that even Ubuntu - the friendliest of the Linux distros - insists on throwing at us.
To be fair it's not the fault of the distro it's the fault of the install script. Until linux has some sort of universally accepted install method (like install shield), or developers start using PPAs or distributing their software as .deb, .rpm etc. it's just one of those things we all have to live with. Admittedly it's a lot better now than it used to be. Thanks for the guide though, if nothing else, for showing me where to find lib-gtk-1.2.
Maxim_Shapoval
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Uplink does't download and run on Ubuntu 11.04

Postby Maxim_Shapoval » Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:12 am

It doesn't work under Ubuntu 11.04. Now I have all necessary packages of its latest versions, trying to run the file "uplink-demo-1.54.sh" and see following message:

"Verifying archive integrity... All good..... Uncompressing Uplink demo 1.54DEMO..... Press Return to close this window".

That's all, nothing happen. After pressing Return key, the window just closed.
By the same, two days earlier I'm purchased this game through Ubuntu Software Center, but still can't to download it, the message kind of:

"W:Failed to fetch https://private-ppa.launchpad.net/comme ... 6/Packages SSL connection timeout at 117815, E:Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead". In the same time, my internet connection is fine. For example, sequential updating for Ubuntu (2 hours ago) was successfully finished.

As a result, I'm lost 10 USD, haven't "Uplink", and don't want to purchase any programs for Linux yet. :evil:

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